If the eyes are the window to your soul, then the skin could be considered the window to your gut. Humor me for a moment, imagine that inside your gut is an incredibly populated city. In general, individuals and families will choose to live in a city that provides them an environment that supports a good quality of life. This most likely is a city that has resources for those people to thrive, such as jobs, a safe environment, healthcare and good schools.

If you were to picture this type of city in your mind, it would probably house a happy and productive population with a clean and safe environment, am I right? While on the other side of the spectrum, a city that lacks jobs, has a struggling school system, no proper access to healthcare and an unsafe environment would most likely not top the charts for places to live and raise a family and would impact the likelihood of it being an extremely productive and thriving city. A city’s environment impacts its population which impacts its ability to thrive, this is not unlike the connection between our gut and our skin. The environment or health of our gut establishes the foundation for our whole body’s health; housing our digestion, absorption, immune response and most importantly our gut bacteria which all have tremendous impact our skins ability to thrive.

The health of our skin is inextricably linked to the health of our gut. Our gut is the city and our skin is the result of that city’s overall function. When our gut’s health or function is impaired, our skin is more likely to reflect that disfunction.

Now we obviously don’t have people living in our gut, but we do have billions and billions of bacteria. The bacterial inhabitants of our gut create what is known as our microbiome, an intricate network of billions of varying bacterial strains that construct the environment of our gut. Just like a city, this environment houses all walks of life from the good to the bad, the key feature of a healthy gut environment is balance. Too much crime, or in the case of our gut an unhealthy lifestyle, pave the way for the opportunistic unhealthy bacteria and yeast to tip the balance leaving little to no room for healthy bacteria.

Not only do unhealthy bacteria and yeast overcrowd our gut and produce harmful toxins, but they also disrupt the primary function of our gut which is to provide a protective barrier against the external environment. When our guts barrier is weak or “leaky”, this allows for more aggravating proteins and toxins to get into our body and bloodstream increasing inflammation and irritation in many parts of our body including our skin.

So what does the research say?

An imbalance in the guts microbiome environment has been shown to impact the physical, chemical and antimicrobial defense system of our skin. In short, an imbalance in healthy bacteria can impact the amount of inflammation, infection and irritation expressed externally on our skin. The guts health is not the cause for all skin conditions; however, it can play a significant role in the severity and aggravation of skin conditions.

Two of the most common skin conditions, acne and seborrheic dermatitis, have been linked to disruptions in the balance of the microbiome. This link is so significant that a Russian study found that of 114 patients with acne, 54% of those had impaired microflora or an imbalance in their gut bacteria. This suggests the guts health can impact the external expression of skin irritations. Skin that is fed from an imbalanced gut has a significantly higher chance of showing irritation than a gut that is balanced.

So what happens if we improve the bacterial health and balance in our gut?

Well it’s no new story. One of the first published studies dates all the way back to 1961 when a physician named Robert Siver treated 300 patients experiencing acne with lactobacilli, a commonly used strain of probiotic. Of those treated 80% showed clinical improvement. Many more recent studies have continued to further support the significance of a healthy gut microbiome for optimal skin health. A balanced gut is the foundation of our bodies digestion, absorption and nourishment, it is the superhighway for nutrient delivery which our skin needs in order to thrive.

Abigail Hueber

Abigail is passionate about helping individuals attain optimal health and well-being through whole-food plant-based diets. She is a Registered Dietitian, having completed her graduate studies at Simmons College and received her BA in Health and Exercise Sciences from Gettysburg College. Abby is the dietitian and wellness director for Newton Country Day School, an all-girls school in Newton, MA where she works to empower girls to develop a healthy relationship with food and their own body. Abby also works with private clients in Boston, MA. Abby is a certified yoga teacher and incorporates the practice of yoga into her school-based wellness curriculum as well as her work with individual clients. When Abby isn’t working with clients or students, she can be found practicing yoga, cooking creative healthy recipes, skiing and spending time with friends and family. Abigail is also one of the nutritionists who runs our Guided Reboot programs.

Hi, thanks for the info. Questions:
1 – Why should we avoid anti-acid medications? (I take them every day for a stomach ulcer. And bicarbonate of soda in water.)
2 – The Russian study which says 54% had impaired microflora – how did they determine that? Do they know what the correct microflora is?
3 – I have managed to improve my stomach, (hugely reducing IBS symptoms), skin, and of course sleep, by taking sleeping pills. (Temazepam.) Any clue as to why taking this should have all the same effects as improving stomach microflora? My stomach is so bad now that without Temazepam, I simply won’t eat anymore.

I’m pretty sure that although there was a time when ulcers were thought to be caused by stress doctors now know that it’s actually a bacteria in the lining of the stomachs which can be irradiated by anti-biotics. It also can cause IBS etc. ask your doctor about it. After the troubling bacteria is gone you can start on a probiotic to help equalize your flora.

Thanks for the reply. Some stomach ulcers are caused by a bacteria, but not all. I have had the treatment for stomach ulcers caused by bacteria – no effect. I have tried all the probiotics I can find, no effect. I even tried worming tablets – no effect. Still the question remains, why would Temazepam cure (temporarily alleviate the symptoms, not really cure) IBS? (Stomach ulcer cured by Zantac and Bicarbonate of soda.)

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